Pet Insurance

[ninahartland]

I'm with Medibank too. Pay just under $120 per month for 4 dogs on the silver cover. Excess is $200 and there were no exclusions with giant breeds.

Don't know how good they are at paying out though cos I haven't had to make a claim yet (touch wood ).

[cavNrott]

My dogs are insured with Bow Wow Meow. They're useless, took 3 attempts just to

get both dogs on a policy and they knocked back the first claim i put in. I should've argued, but couldn't be bothered. I only took it out for major illness really. I'm not going to argue over a small amount.

I agree RottyLover. It took me three telephone calls, each with a 10 minute wait on their recorded message system plus an angry email to get someone to return my calls and when they did the woman didn't have a clue.

I submitted my claim 3 weeks ago and rang yesterday to check the status. She not only insisted there was no such policy number though I had the policy document in front of me, she also said they hadn't received my claim. I'd sent it by registered post and had a signed receipt from them. She was about to blow me off when I told her I had a signed receipt.

She eventually searched for the policy number via my name and address and proceded to tell me the policy number was one I'd cancelled 6 years ago. It was for my deceased dog and the policy wasn't with their company. It seems the underwriter supplies aged records to insurance companies.

She kept insisting this cancelled policy number was correct after I told her the dog was deceased and the policy was cancelled 6 years earlier. By then I was angry and repeated the dog was dead - did she understand dead...and would she stop talking over me and listen for a second.

Once I overcame the hurdle of her stating no policy existed and no claim was received, it was established they did receive my claim and the policy number mix up was an internal issue. I asked when the claim would be processed. Was told they would contact me in about 6 weeks. Sure they will! I'll probably have to go through the same thing again with them.

I expect they'll do their best to deny the claim but the vet and the specialist supplied me with detailed documentation of everything that took place including all medication and date and time of day it took place. I wrote a covering letter and enclosed all documentation (after copying everything) so it will be difficult for them to refuse to honour the policy.

When dealing with this lot I think it's a good idea to register all correspondence and keep a copy of everything you send them. If I didn't have proof and receipt numbers I would have no proof that I did send in the claim or that they did receive it.

Guess who won't be renewing both my policies with them when the year is up?

[Danois]

Over 6 weeks for a claim

I have never waited more than 2 weeks with my insurer.

[cavNrott]

Over 6 weeks for a claim

I have never waited more than 2 weeks with my insurer.

The 6 weeks is in addition to the 3 weeks they have already had all the paperwork.

[spoilt lab lives here]

Just to drag this up again but I have a question about pet insurance. Do you pay the vet then put in a claim and get the money back at a later date or does they vet just wait until the claim goes through then you pay them? That part about it i dont quite understand.

[Erny]

With PetPlan, you pay the Vet then lodge a claim. I think it is the same or similar with most others. I believe there is the option of the claim going in and the Vet being paid from that, but I would expect that would have to be under exceptional circumstances and by special agreement with the Vet. I would not like to be in a job where I rely on the income for my bread and butter, but where to get the money I've earnt I have to go through the hoops of the claim being made and then wait (hope) that it will come through without it being contested. I think I would likely go broke in the meantime. So I wouldn't expect a Vet to agree to this method too easily.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Erny

[PoppyDog]

This scares the bejeebus out of me. We would simply NOT be able to afford a vet bill of over $500 in one hit. So even with pet insurance we would be stuck!

I hope and pray that we NEVER have to cross that bridge!

[Erny]

PoppyDog .... unfortunately it is one of those things you need to budget for a 'rainy day' for. I hope it doesn't eventuate for your dogs needing it, but $500 is nothing when it comes to Vet bills (IMO).

So maybe think about putting a couple of dollars a day to one side (half the cost of a cappuccino) and leave it in a special account where you can forget about it (and not touch it). You'll remember it if/when the time comes that you might need it. Better to start being part way prepared now, rather than waiting for the possible D-day. I promise, you'll find it far less stressful to deal with (having our dogs ill/injured is bad enough) if you at least having something put aside.

Vet bills, and preparedness for them is part and parcel of what you need to be able to manage when it comes to dog ownership.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Erny

[goldenluv]

I have just signed up with prosure, was recommended by my vet

there is 3 levels of insurance and its apparently set up by vets

there web site is easy to follow

[PoppyDog]

PoppyDog .... unfortunately it is one of those things you need to budget for a 'rainy day' for. I hope it doesn't eventuate for your dogs needing it, but $500 is nothing when it comes to Vet bills (IMO).

So maybe think about putting a couple of dollars a day to one side (half the cost of a cappuccino) and leave it in a special account where you can forget about it (and not touch it). You'll remember it if/when the time comes that you might need it. Better to start being part way prepared now, rather than waiting for the possible D-day. I promise, you'll find it far less stressful to deal with (having our dogs ill/injured is bad enough) if you at least having something put aside.

Vet bills, and preparedness for them is part and parcel of what you need to be able to manage when it comes to dog ownership.

I agree! I should of been more clear in saying it wasn't something we could afford. We have just moved and of course that has eaten up all our savings so while its not something we can afford NOW it will be something we can afford over the next few months as we start building up our savings again. After July Pet Insurance is something we want to look at.

[Erny]

I agree! I should of been more clear in saying it wasn't something we could afford. We have just moved and of course that has eaten up all our savings so while its not something we can afford NOW it will be something we can afford over the next few months as we start building up our savings again. After July Pet Insurance is something we want to look at.

Yes - I agree. Sometimes it never rains but it pours and whilst we know we'll get through the 'high finance' periods, one can't help but hope that there won't be those 'unexpecteds' during that time. If that comes up though, unless the credit card is already maxed out, that's where it comes in handy, knowing it will get you through and you can pay it back within a certain time frame. It's more ideal if this 'back stop' can be avoided of course, because after all, we pay the penalties (interest) for it.

Hope everything stays on an even keel for you .

[Staff'n'Toller]

Resamith from the rules section:

No advertising or self promotion

Posting just to promote your business or web site, will get you banned. (This includes people looking for a stud dog, selling puppies etc).

It is usually pretty obvious when members join just for this purpose. Under no circumstances can you advertise a similar site to Dogz Online or any other dog forum in any way.

[Erny]

I agree! I should of been more clear in saying it wasn't something we could afford. We have just moved and of course that has eaten up all our savings so while its not something we can afford NOW it will be something we can afford over the next few months as we start building up our savings again. After July Pet Insurance is something we want to look at.

Yes - I agree. Sometimes it never rains but it pours and whilst we know we'll get through the 'high finance' periods, one can't help but hope that there won't be those 'unexpecteds' during that time. If that comes up though, unless the credit card is already maxed out, that's where it comes in handy, knowing it will get you through and you can pay it back within a certain time frame. It's more ideal if this 'back stop' can be avoided of course, because after all, we pay the penalties (interest) for it.

Hope everything stays on an even keel for you .

There are many veterinary costs covered by pet insurance, should probably have a look at benefits

But if you read the posts to which my post relates, you'll see that it is about the fact that the owner still must be able to source the money to pay the Vet in the first place. And then hope that the claim won't be knocked back and made laborious to dispute or for the money to come through. I have made 3 x claims. Each was related (or at least 2 were) but I was made to make separate claims for them. This means that I had to pay the excess of 3 x $100.00. Each claim was denied (even though one claim was denied due to a clerical error in reading a date incorrectly) and even when that was pointed out, it was insisted the same be processed by the insurance company's review board. In the end, the claims were honoured, but it took a good 2 or 3 months for the process to conclude.

Yes - having insurance there can be a godsend, but it isn't always necessarily easy as it sounds to be compensated for the veterinary expenses and until the claim is processed, there is always that "what if they don't" (for whatever unfathomable reason) niggle in the back of one's mind.

And yes, my insurance premium went up by $100.00 in the space of 12 months also.

Edited March 10, 2010 by Erny

[Erny]

SnT .... I didn't see Resamith's post (above) as advertising .

[spoilt lab lives here]

There is a link to pet insurance in Reasmith's signature. I think that may be what SnT is refering to.

[Staff'n'Toller]

It's 3 of 3 posts where they have made a random statement about pet insurance and 1300 insurance is listed in their sig.